Spraying apparatus



March 31, 1953 A. MARMOR SPRAYING APPARATUS Filed Feb. 7, 1950 PatentedMar. 31, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SPRAYING APPARATUS Ad ian Mh mPhil hia, Pa, assignor to Ha e .F e Pump Jq s qhs kh, Bag, Q91? notationof Pennsylvania Application Feb uary ,59, erial N3 l2 88 h i h(6.239e-59 This invention relates to im re sm ht m orchard spraying andlike apparatus and a principal object of the invention is to prov de an1110-. proved pre-mixing and agitating means for apparatus of this type.I I

Another object of the invention s to provide an improved pre-mixing andagitating device for sprayers in the form .oi an attachment ofrelatively simple structural and mechan cal form which may be ead ly plie i x shhg spray apparatus.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a unitary devicethat, by simple adjustment of a single moving part, may perform the dualfunctions of pre-mixing and agitating.

A further object of the invention is to provide a device of thestatedlcharacter having selfcleaning characteristics.

The invention resides also in certain novel structural and mechanicaldetails hereinaiter described and illustrated in the attached drawingswherein:

' Fig. 1 is a side elevational View of a sprayer unit equipped withpro-mixing and agitating devices in accordance with my invention;

Fig. 2 is a sectional viewbl the line 2-12, Fig, 1 I Fig. 3 is avertical sectional view through one of the pre-mixing andlagitatingnozzles;

Fig. 4 is a section on the line 4...$, Fig. 3

Fig. .5 is a fragmentary .sectiona;l' view of the discharge end of oneof the prer-mixing and ag tating nozzles showing the control element n adifierent position of adjustment from that llustrated in Fig. 3; and

.Fig. 6 is an end elevation of the element shown in Fig. ,5 as viewedfrom the line 6+8 of the latter figure.

With reference to the drawings, the sprayer unit shown in Fig. 1 is ofthe trailer type including a frame or chassis I and supporting wheels2.' At the front or the frame 1 is a hitch 3 by means of which the unitmay be attached to a tractor or other suitable automotive means.

Supported on the frame I is a'tank A which adapted to contain-theliquidspray medium, this tank having at the top a normally closed port forintroduction of the solid components of the said medium. -Water isintroduced into the tank 4 by means of a pump 56 -'Whi0hiS mounted inthe frame and which is actuated by a similarly mountedgasoline engine"I. Ihe engineisconnected to the pump through a suitable speed changeunit 8. The pump .16 .is .of centrifugal type in the present instance:and has ,connected to the suction side thereof a pipe '9. This :pipehas a'branch H which -is connected :at its outer 2 end o a len t if.fissil ls h se nd a s r ne brah'sh sis s ihrshsh the reht a Hi s thetank Ainto' the interior and to a point l5 near the bo m f the its alv s5a I? controlthe branches II and i3 respectively.

Th s s s' sf ths' ih his 'sshhs ish through alp'ip'e [8 'with' pipe 19which extends hor z a v thro'hsh elf i i W nda 11150 fil nte ior 'b s khtiq 51d? 5f 2 The operative connectionoii this pipe Tyvith the pump maybe controlled by a valii e 2i 'ih'e pipe 5 h sf shs udihhl arran es t msin d s charge nipples 22, each of which is "connected through aflexibleduct 2,3 with'a noz' zleelement as, these elements being oumeqthe ose mate side wall 25 of the tank, as best illustrated in Fig. 3.The nozzle elements .eiitend in horis er es a o nin ths'hsh Wa 2710 thetank. v

As shown in Big. 3, each of the elements 26 comprises a body member 28which projects through .an'opening 29"injthe walllo'f thetank and whichhas a circuia'r'flange 3! which issecured by bolts 32 againstitheTouterface" of the ell said flange in e t closi the said be n: his 129' a unhs b s s T h r end of the body member 28 contains a chamber 33, and theflexible duct .23 associated with this partic a nozzle sme tl s .shhscted i e chamber 3 by way o a rt 15.4 i the wa h he l ter.- A port 35s alsoisrh ds i ths inner end of the body member 535 whichonehsidire rihheshamb rfihsb siv member 2. al o smh 'ise acyl sh cal 'bore 36 whichextends in alignment with the hq isi om h ih snd t shs mhs s the h tssur ace 3. o th bod m h and his i rs contains a .hs y fitted ih hse 3hThe inn e of the h uh sr h s si ts iht th chamber es, and when thepihnger is in a rera tsd s ion a shswhih Figthe d ssha ss o t thi leentirel hhhhsti uqts' an i s QQmh Jm satiQh t rough t chambe with he prt is the hlhhssr i is adva ed w e as show 1371s..-

i h .i h an s s wi 1 .nsai fi withih hsl wil s s rshclose the p rt 5xcep lior mal .sh hne s me th i h ithd ha hims-.5 1 L hh 1 d of h p h sffrh grow cs te i ate ihiihs Outer .s d'sur as 9. s.nli h.s. a s greaterlength thanthe axial dimension of the port 35, ;as"best"shown'-in Fig.Sfsbthat liquid may pass from the chamber 3-3 through the channel 39even though the port -35 is otherwise closed by the plunger. It willJoe-noted that a pin .42 is mounted in .the wall of the chamber 83 andprojects into the latter, said pin having a reduced tip 43 which fitsneatly into the groove 41. The function of this pin will be hereinafterdescribed.

A suitable stuffing box 43 seals the joint where the plunger 38 passesthrough the wall of the body member. The outer end of the plungercarries a clevis 44 in which is secured, by means of a pin 45, to theouter end of an arm 46, this arm being attached to a shaft 41 journalledin brackets 48, 48 secured to the tank wall. The shaft 4! finds supportalso in bracket arms 49 projecting from the flanges 5] of the nozzlefittings 24. The forward end of the shaft 41' carries a handle 5! bymeans of which the shaft may be rocked in its journal. Each of thebracket arms 49 carries a laterally projected stop pin 52 which, byengagement with shoulders 53 and 54 on the hub portion of the proximatearm 46, limits the extent of the rocking movement of the shaft 47 andthereby also limits the resulting longitudinal movement of the plungers38.

It will be understood that similar nozzle elements and nozzle adjustingmeans may, if desired, be provided on the wall 25, for connection withdischarge of the pump, but it is desirable for functional reasons, ashereinafter set forth, to confine operation at any given time to thenozzles on one side only of the tank.

It will be noted by reference to Fig. 2 that the bottom wall 21 of thetank slopes downwardly toward the center from each of the side walls 25and 26, and that the inner ends of the nozzle elements 24 are directeddiagonally downward toward the central low portion of the tank bottom.It will be noted also by reference to this same figure that the lowerportion of the side wall 25 in which the elements 24 are mounted, andsimilarly the wall 26, is inset from the plane of the upper portion ofthe side wall so as to form a recess within which the fittings 26 andthe shafts ii are housed.

The pipe [8 of the pump discharge is connected to a pair of pipes 55, 55which extend rearwardly under the respective opposite sides of the framei, and are connected with a pair of upright headers 56 at the .rear endof the tank. Each of the headers 56 has a longitudinal series ofdischarge nozzles 57 which may be directed to the opposite sides of thesprayer unit. The connection between both of the pipes 55 and the pumpdischarge is controllable by a valve 58, and preferably a valve 5!! isprovided in each of the pipes for individual control.

In operation, the normal initial step is that of mixing the sprayingredients in the tank 4. The solids component, as previously setforth, are introduced through the port 5 in the top of the tank.Thereafter, with the valves 11 and 58 closed, and with the valves 16 and2| open, the pump 6 may be operated to draw water from a suitable sourcewith which the hose [2 has been connected and to introduce this waterinto the tank 4 through the pipes IQ for mixture with the aforesaidsolids. During this mixing operation, the plungers 38 of the nozzleelements 24 are retractedyas shown in Fig. 3, so that water may passfreely and in maximum volume to the tank. The streams of water thusprojected toward the central low portion of the tank bottom through thenozzle ports 35, effects a thorough and rapid mixing of the ingredientsof the spray medium.

Following introduction of the required quan- 4 tity of water in thismanner, the hose i2 is disconnected from the water source and the valve16 is closed. By then opening the valve H, the liquid spray mixture maybe circulated through the pump which Withdraws the mixture from the tankthrough the pipe l3 and returns it to the tank by way of the pipes 19and nozzle fittings 24. Additional mixing of the components of the spraymay be obtained in this manner if necessary.

For the spraying operation the valve 58 will be opened together with thevalves l1 and 2|, and the plungers 38 of the units 24 will be adjustedto the position shown in Fig. 5. Under these circumstances, aspreviously described, the discharge from the nozzle units will take theform of high velocity jets projected through the channels 39, these jetsbeing directed downwardly and laterally into the lower part of the tankand toward the low central portion thereof in which any solidsseparating from the spray mixture will tend to collect. The highvelocity jets will thus function to maintain in suspension the solidsthus tending to separate by gravity and will continuously agitate theliquid contents of the tank and will thus insure a proper homogeneousdistribution of the solids of the spray mixture in the water vehicle.Since the liquid thus discharged through the jet ports 39 is only asmall part of the total volume discharged by the pump, the agitatingmeans has no material effect upon the effective pressure within theheaders 56.

The arrangement of the nozzles has a material effect upon the characterand effectiveness of the agitation both in the pre-mixing and sprayingoperations. By using a single set of nozzles at one side of the tankdirected laterally at the bottom of the latter, the nozzle discharge hasthe effect of setting up a turbulent rotary circulation of the contentsof the tank which is highly efiective for the intended purposes.Simultaneous use of two sets of nozzles at the opposite sidesrespectively of the tank, while ore-j ating a desirable turbulence,would tend to minimize circulation of the body of liquid as a whole andwould therefore be relatively ineffective to the primary end ofhomogeneity in the dis-' charged spray.

It will be noted that the pin 42, which by reason of the tip 43 whichclosely fits the groove 4! of the plunger, as described, will functionto maintain this groove free from the sediment that otherwise might clogthe jet channel 39. Each longitudinal movement of the plunger 38 willeffect a complete scouring and cleaning of the groove 4|, it being notedthat in the fully retracted position of the plunger 38 the pin willoccupy a position in the extreme outer end of the groove so that anysubsequent advance movement of the plunger will effect a completecleaning of the operative length of the groove. It will be noted also,by reference to Fig. 1, that the pipe I9 extends through the rear wall59 of the tank 4, the projecting end being provided with a removable cap54 whereby access may be had to the interior of the pipe from theoutside of the tank for cleaning purposes.

I claim:

1. A nozzle element comprising a body member containing a chamber and adischarge port in the wall of said chamber, a supply port communicatingwith said chamber, a plunger adjustable in said body between advancedand retracted positions, said plunger when advanced entering thedischarge port and when retracted leaving the port unobstructed, saidplunger neatly fitting said discharge port and having in the exteriorsurface thereof a longitudinal groove forming a restricted channel fromthe said chamber to the exterior of the body when the plunger is in theadvanced position, and a fixed pin projecting into the chamber andhaving its inner extremity fitted to said groove.

2. A nozzle comprising a hollow body having an inlet and discharge port,a member fitted to the discharge port and having a groove in the outerface thereof affording passage of fluid through the port, said grooveintersecting the outer end surface of the member and said member beingmovably mounted in the body and being retractable from the port, a pinin said body projecting into the groove at a point inwardly of the portand relatively fixed with respect to said member so as to traverse thechannel when the member is retracted to clear the channel of accumulatedsolids, and means for limiting the retractive movement of the member toa point where the pin occupies a position in the extreme outer end ofthe groove.

3. A nozzle comprising a hollow body having an inlet and discharge port,means for clearing the discharge port of accumulated solids, said meansincluding a plunger slidably mounted in the body and projecting throughthe wall of the latter, and means for mounting the nozzle in the wall ofa tank, said mounting means including a flange arranged for attachmentto the said wall over an opening in the latter so as to seal the openingand to support the said nozzle body with the discharge port thereof inthe interior of the tank and the outer projecting end of the plunger onthe outside of the tank, actuating means for the plunger, and means onthe nozzle body for supporting said actuating means in position forattachment to the outer projecting end of the plunger.

ADRIAN MARMOR.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS

